MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Homemade Chorizo
 Categories: Mexican, Sausages
      Yield: 4 1/2 pounds

      5 lb Fatty pork shoulder or other
           -well-marbled cut of pork
  1 1/2 oz Salt
    1/2 oz Ancho chile powder
    1/4 oz Paprika
    1/4 oz Cayenne pepper
    1/3 oz Ground cumin
      1 pn Freshly ground black pepper
      5 cl Garlic; minced
    1/4 oz Fresh oregano; minced
           Hog casings (12' by 1-1/8
           -to 1-1/4")

  Preparation time: 2 hours 30 minutes

  Knowing how to make homemade chorizo from scratch is, we think, an
  essential life skill everyone should learn and practice often. We
  explain how with this recipe, which falls smack in between the
  Mexican and Spanish styles of chorizo. (We couldn't decide which
  style we preferred so we combined our fave parts of each.)

  Dice the pork into smallish 1" (2.5 cm) cubes.

  In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the pork, salt, ancho,
  paprika, cayenne, cumin, black pepper, garlic, and oregano until
  everything is equally distributed. Cover and refrigerate the chorizo
  mixture until you're ready to grind.

  Meanwhile, place your meat grinder in the freezer until chilled
  through, at least 30 minutes. (By way of explanation, this helps keep
  the meat cold as you process it. If the grinder isn't cold, the meat
  will become too warm and it won't grind properly, which will ruin the
  texture and result in a dry, crumbly, less flavorful chorizo sausage,
  which ultimately leads to sadness.)

  Set up the grinder with a 3/16 (medium) die or, if you're using a
  KitchenAid grinder attachment, start with the larger of the two dies
  for the first grind and then switch out to the second, smaller die
  for the second grind. Turn the grinder on and slowly add the pork
  through the feed tube. Be careful not to overload or overfill the
  grinder. Add the pork slowly, piece by piece, so the elbow doesn't
  get overfilled or clogged. If you notice any smearing or clogging on
  the die, turn off the grinder and clean out the die. Also check your
  pork to make certain it's still cold. If at any point the grinder is
  no longer cold, return it to the freezer until it's thoroughly
  chilled and refrigerate the pork rather than leave it at room
  temperature.

  After the first pass through the grinder, use your hands to completely
  combine all of the ingredients. Then pass it through the grinder a
  second time. (The more you grind the meat, the finer the texture will
  become and the firmer the resulting chorizo sausage will be.) After
  the second grind, use your hands to once again thoroughly mix the
  ingredients until the mixture becomes sticky and fully combined. (The
  sausage should stick to your hand when you turn it upside down.)
  Cover and refrigerate the chorizo mixture until chilled through,
  about 1 hour.

  If you're using natural casings, they'll need to be soaked in
  room-temperature water for at least 1 hour before using. You'll want
  to change the water several times and we've found that running water
  through them a few times before trying to put them on the extruder
  tube makes everything way easier. This also results in a softer and
  more pliable casing, which makes it easier to slide the casing onto
  the extruder and less likely to split when being filled.

  Prepare your stuffer or stuffing attachment according to the
  manufacturer's directions. Add the loose sausage mixture to the
  stuffer or stuffing attachment and pack it down to remove all air
  pockets. Lubricate the feeder tube with water and slide the casing
  onto the tube.

  Once the casing is entirely scrunched onto the feeder tube, pull 2"
  (5 cm) of casing off the tip of the tube. Grasp the casing end with
  one hand and begin cranking with the other hand. Once you can see
  meat begin to make its way out of the tube, pinch off the end of the
  casing so the meat is forced to expand inside the casing as you
  slowly pull away, keeping a grip on the casing. Be sure both the
  casing and the counter on which the sausage will fall are very wet
  and lubricated to prevent any ripping or sticking. (You may find it
  handy to keep a squeeze bottle of water nearby for this). When about
  3 to 4" (8 to 10 cm) of chorizo sausage mixture has made its way into
  the casing, let go of the end and use one hand to feed the casing off
  of the tube while the sausage is being cranked out with your other
  hand. As you are doing this, be mindful about filling the casing. You
  want to find that sweet spot where the casing is filled with meat and
  a little amount of air remains but not so full that it will bust when
  you begin twisting. Once all the meat has been stuffed into the
  casing, leave 6" (15 cm) empty casing on the end and cut off any
  excess to reserve for future use.

  continued in part 2

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